Zombies at Sunset Courts

Maya's iphone felt heavy in her sweat-slicked palm as she leaned against the chain-link fence, watching the padel courts like they were sacred ground. The varsity crew moved with effortless coordination—Liam diving for a low shot, Chloe laughing with that perfect hair-toss, the ball popping against the glass walls. Maya's neon orange headband felt suddenly too bright, too desperate.

"You gonna stand there like a zombie all day or what?"

She jumped. Tyler—Liam's best friend, also way too gorgeous for his own good—stood beside her, drinking from a massive orange Gatorade. "I'm observing. Gathering intel. Like the FBI but cooler."

"The FBI doesn't stalk people's Instagram stories for three hours straight." He grinned. "Also, you're doing it wrong."

"Excuse me?"

"Liam's been trying to get your attention since summer started." Tyler nodded toward the courts. "He literally bear-hugged my brother yesterday because he wouldn't shut up about you."

Maya's stomach did that terrifying flip. "You're literally messing with me right now."

"Bro code says I can't lie about this stuff." Tyler finished his drink. "Also, Chloe's dating someone from Northwood. So there's that."

The words hit like a physical thing. Maya's fingers tightened around her phone. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh." He started walking away, then turned back. "Also? Padel's not that deep. We're all terrible at it. You should come play Friday."

"What if I suck?"

Tyler shrugged. "Then you suck. We'll still let you play. Unless you're secretly a zombie. Then we might have issues."

Maya laughed despite herself. The sun was setting behind the courts, painting everything orange and gold—like the world was giving her permission to try, to fail, to just be there. She unlocked her phone, opened the group chat she'd been too scared to join, and typed: *I'm in for Friday.*

The response came instantly—three explosion emojis, a skull (Liam), and a bear (Tyler). Maya grinned, her phone screen glowing against the dusk. Sometimes the scariest part wasn't the zombies or the what-ifs. It was showing up to play anyway.